Rising From Ashes: The Untouchable Zillionaire Heiress

The damp cold of the private asylum basement seeped through Ava Sinclair's thin hospital gown, sinking directly into her fragile bones. She sat slumped in a rusted wheelchair. Her muscles were completely atrophied. Every breath she took felt like inhaling crushed glass.

The heavy steel door groaned open. A harsh sliver of artificial hallway light sliced through the darkness.

Seraphina Vance stepped into the room. Her red designer heels clicked sharply against the stained concrete floor. The sound was a rhythmic, agonizing drill into Ava's skull.

Seraphina stopped in front of the wheelchair. She pinched her nose in exaggerated disgust, her manicured fingers pressing against her nostrils to block out the smell of bleach and rotting despair.

Ava slowly lifted her head. Her vocal cords were ruined from the chemical burns. She tried to speak, but only a harsh, wet rasp escaped her throat.

Seraphina smiled sweetly. It was a sickening expression that completely contradicted the malicious glint in her eyes. She reached into her expensive handbag and pulled out a silver compact mirror.

She forced the mirror directly in front of Ava's face.

"Look at yourself, sister," Seraphina whispered.

Ava's eyes locked onto the glass. The reflection showed a monster. Her flesh was melted, chemically scarred, and violently disfigured.

Ava squeezed her eyes shut. Her hands trembled violently. She gripped the rusted armrests of her wheelchair, her knuckles turning white in a surge of futile anger.

Seraphina's hand shot out. She yanked Ava's hair backward, forcing her scalp to stretch. Ava's eyes snapped open from the sharp pain, forced to maintain eye contact with her ruined face in the mirror.

Seraphina leaned in close. Her hot breath fanned against Ava's scarred cheek.

"Your shares in the Sinclair Corporation have officially been transferred to my name," Seraphina whispered.

Ava thrashes violently. She tried to push Seraphina away, but her arms felt like lead. Her weakened muscles completely betrayed her.

Seraphina laughed. She easily swats Ava's weak hands away, slapping her wrist with a sharp smack.

"Oh, and my mother sends her regards," Seraphina said casually, adjusting her diamond earrings. "Lydia wanted you to know she planned your mother's little 'accident' perfectly."

Ava's eyes widened in absolute horror. Her chest heaved. A single, boiling hot tear cut through the deep scars on her cheek, stinging the raw flesh.

Seraphina bent down, bringing her lips right next to Ava's ear to deliver the final blow.

"Augustus Carlisle did not die of natural causes."

Ava's breathing stopped.

"My mother and I tampered with his heart medication," Seraphina confessed, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "We needed that inheritance. He was just in the way."

A broken, inhuman hiss forced its way up from the very depths of Ava's ruined throat, tearing at the scar tissue. Blood pooled in her mouth, choking her desperate, beast-like wheezes. She lunged forward, throwing her entire upper body out of the wheelchair.

Ava crashed heavily onto the concrete floor. Her knees bruised instantly. Her fingers desperately clawed at the dirty ground, dragging her body toward Seraphina's ankles.

Footsteps echoed from the doorway. Ethan Thorne entered the basement. He paused, casually adjusting his expensive gold cuffs.

Ethan looked down at Ava writhing on the floor. His eyes held absolute contempt and zero pity.

Seraphina immediately changed her demeanor. She shrank back, biting her lower lip in exaggerated fear, acting terrified by Ava's sudden aggression.

"Ethan, she's going crazy again!" Seraphina cried out.

Ethan stepped forward. He shielded Seraphina with his body. He raised his polished leather shoe and delivered a brutal kick directly into Ava's ribs.

Ava gasped. The sickening crunch of a fracturing rib echoed in the small room. She curled into a ball, coughing up specks of dark blood onto the concrete.

Ethan crouched down. He grabbed Ava roughly by the collar of her hospital gown, lifting her upper body off the floor.

"Stop terrorizing your kind sister, you disgusting freak," Ethan demanded, his voice cold.

Ava stared into the eyes of the man she had once loved. She didn't see a fiancé. She saw a parasitic monster. Her stomach churned with pure hatred.

Summoning the absolute last ounce of her life force, Ava lunged her head forward. She sank her teeth deep into the flesh of Ethan's hand.

Ethan howled in agony. Warm blood drew from the deep bite wound, spilling over Ava's lips. He tried to shake her off, but her jaw was locked in a death grip.

In a blind rage, Ethan violently ripped his hand free. He grabbed a fistful of Ava's hair and slammed her head backward against the solid concrete wall.

A sickening crack echoed through the room.

Ava's vision instantly swam with dark spots. The metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth. Her life faded rapidly, her limbs going entirely numb.

Ava stared at the flickering fluorescent ceiling light. With her dying breath, she mentally cursed them to hell. Then, her world went entirely black.